Mohammad later recanted his statements, instead telling federal agents his son was fraternizing with the wrong crowd.
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“The FBI conducted internal database reviews, interagency checks, and multiple interviews, none of which revealed ties to terrorism”, the FBI said.
At the time, the son was being held on an assault charge for stabbing his brother during a domestic dispute, another law enforcement official said. The grand jury declined to indict Mr. Rahami, citing insufficient evidence.
Rahami had a notebook on him when he was apprehended – writings making references to terrorists.
The official who spoke to AP insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Justice Department guidelines restrict the types of actions agents may take; they can not, for instance, record phone calls without obtaining a higher level of approval or developing more grounds for suspicion.
Rahami is a naturalised citizen who came to the U.S.as a child.
Police officers had responded to a call from the owner of a tavern who was suspicious of a bearded man sleeping in the doorway.
In 2014, years before the recent bombs in NY and New Jersey, the father of suspected bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami told the Federal Bureau of Investigation that his son was a terrorist.
Two officers were shot in the encounter, but suffered non-life threatening injuries.
“He doing bad, he stabbed my son, he hit my wife”, the father said.
He is now receiving treatment for his wounds at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, where he could formally face his charges if he cannot travel to the US District Court in Manhattan, his lawyer said.
Police suspect Rahami was also behind a bomb that exploded in New Jersey on Saturday, a device found near the NY blast, and up to six more devices found near a train station.
A second bomb was discovered four blocks away. Rahami is believed to be also connected to an apparent attempted bombing in Seaside Park, New Jersey and with a backpack bomb left at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They said a second phone shipped to the same place was used in the bomb that blew up in Chelsea.
Surveillance cameras spotted the men walking down several different streets, investigators added.
Rahami, 28, attended Edison High School in New Jersey.
Those and other clues spurred officials to release his name and photo Monday morning.
“As members of the New Jersey delegation we have a duty to our constituents to do everything in our power to help keep them safe, and a full classified briefing is the first step in that direction”, the letter said. Still, some of the restaurant’s customers said Rahami was more likely to talk about his interest in cars.
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The charges against Ahmad Rahami were filed in Manhattan by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
